Heroes Come Back
by CarefulCrown
Summary: *Oneshot* 20 years after the reported death of Uzumaki Naruto, A young academy student with a head of spiky blond hair is graduating the academy into a world rife with corruption and deceit. When the world is at peace, look out for the enemies within. A short story where things aren't ever what they seem.


A.N.- This oneshot is something that I've written to get back into the groove of it all now that I have a bit more free time with which to write. It is my hope that you enjoy it as I have enjoyed writing it.

**Distorted By Time**

_A oneshot by CarefulCrown_

"How did Uzumaki Naruto die?"

The question was asked one day in the academy as part of a regular exam. It was considered a freebie question as far as the teachers were concerned. There wasn't a child in Konoha not familiar with the tale of Uzumaki Naruto from start to finish. Every child knew the tale of how, twenty two years before, his war wounds had finally caught up with him and his body found itself unable to regenerate any further. All children, except for one, it would seem.

His name was Hirogaki Naruto, named after the great hero himself. An orphan, the boy seemed almost unnaturally bad at academics. His practical abilities were top of the class, but he would regularly fail at basic written work. His answer to the question was significantly different from any answer provided by another student.

"Uzumaki Naruto died alone and with nothing more to look forward to in life."

The answer was dark and morbid, a stark difference from the boy's usually outgoing and positive attitude. It seemed that the boy had an aversion of some sort to the hero that he was named after. Though many gave him trouble for the fact that he would likely never live up to his namesake, many felt sorry for the boy in that he even had to try and compare to the legendary hero.

This is the story of that boy's coming of age.

* * *

"You're finally awake! I thought you would sleep forever, ya know?"

"Eh? Dumb brat, of course I'd rest longer than you would. Did you even sleep at all?"

"Barely, you ancient bastard. As soon as I shut my eyes, it seems,I was starting to wake up. How can I when there's so much left to do?"

"Well then, now that I'm back, you can pick up where we left off."

* * *

*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*

If one were to ask Hirogaki Naruto what he thought of his alarm clock, he would tell them that he considered it a villain on par with politicians and gangsters. He had destroyed so many of his alarm clocks that he had purchased one deafeningly loud timekeeper and placed it on a table outside his bedroom door. No kunai was hitting that clock without going straight through a wall. Shoddy patchwork on the wall showed signs of some such attempts.

Leaving the room, Naruto turned off the clock and made his way over to the bathroom, where he turned the shower on and let it warm up while he brushed his teeth. Things would be better when he could go on missions and make money to afford an apartment for himself without such an archaic water-heater. There was nothing glaringly wrong with the apartment, but there was a large number of somewhat annoying things that he had to deal with. An incredibly loud refrigerator, mortar falling from cracks in the ceiling, thin walls, a door that didn't keep outside sounds out very well, if at all, etc. It was certainly livable, but Naruto wanted nicer things for himself.

Stepping out of the shower, Naruto took a look at himself in the mirror. It was easy to see how he had been given the name that he had. Staring back at him in the mirror was a blonde haired boy with slightly tannish skin and strikingly blue eyes. His hair, admittedly a bit long, spiked around his head in a way similar to the way the Fourth Hokage's hair had appeared. He walked back into his bedroom and threw on a black t-shirt with Konoha's leaf symbol upon it and a pair of olive shorts. Around his left leg he tied his kunai holster, and around his forehead he tied his newly earned hitai-ate, polished to a beautiful shine. The outfit was completed by an orange tinted pair of ski goggles that he had taken to wearing since he thought they were awesome.

A delicious breakfast of instant ramen awaited the boy in his kitchen, same as any other morning. There were few things that he found more annoying than the three minutes that it took the ramen to cook. The damn container said instant, so why wasn't it? After the abysmal wait, Naruto dug into his breakfast with fervor. Cleaning up when he was done, the boy headed out the window and leapt his way across the local rooftops all the way to the academy.

* * *

The academy was perhaps the oldest building in its area. Located along the outskirts of the village, just like Naruto's apartment, being the oldest building was saying something. In the more centralized areas of the village, large, sky-scraping buildings had been erected in the last thirty years and were continuing to be built along the newly paved concrete roads. With the recent prosperity of the village, many of the more well-to-do members of society had been able to purchase "automobiles" that they could drive down these roads while citizen walked alongside the road on "sidewalks".

Walking into the aged building, Naruto found his way to his classroom, which was nearly empty aside from a few other students who had gotten there as early as he had. He was willing to bet that those students had been unable to sleep in very well given the excitement of getting assigned to their genin teams. Today was the day that they would get the chance to leave school and become official shinobi and kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf Village. He had been sitting in a seat in the middle of the room with his eyes closed, feigning sleep for some time when he felt a slight tug at his waistline.

"Sawa-chan," he said under his breath, "you remember what happened last time you tried to sneak a peek on me, right? I'm flattered, but you shouldn't be doing that, now should you?"

Otona Sawaruko was certainly a character. The girl, as was the case with most her age, had yet to develop beyond the very beginnings of secondary sex characteristics (read: mosquito bites). This hadn't stopped her from developing mentally into some sort of unrepentant pervert. Naruto knew that the girl was raised by a single wealthy mother, and a bombshell of a woman at that, but the once that they had met she really didn't strike him as the sort of pervert her daughter was. Though they didn't act similarly, they certainly looked the same. Sky blue hair cropped at the shoulders, deep red eyes that clashed sharply with their blue hair, and an ever present sly look about them.

The girl had at some point during her academy career started creeping hard on the boys, though she did seem to favor Naruto over the other boys. Naruto generally didn't mind, and even occasionally played along, as long as she didn't try to go to far, like peeking in his pants. She was twelve years old, damnit, that could wait until at least fifteen. The last time she had tried, Naruto, ever the prankster, had swapped out her clothing with t-shirts promoting abstinence that had been distributed in civilian schools as part of a new health education campaign. When she started attending school in nothing but her underwear, the full story had come out and the two of them had spent a solid month in detention being lectured on morals and "common decency".

He was fairly certain that he was missing a pair of boxers that had been in his academy gym locker, and he was willing to bet that the blue haired girl had them somewhere. He knew better than to ask and she knew better than to assume he didn't know she had them. He wouldn't be getting them back.

"But Naru-kun, we get put into teams today. This could be my last chance to see what you're packing!" The girl replied energetically, as if that argument would convince the boy to drop his drawers. Naruto facepalmed and returned to ignoring her. Had she been born male, the women would have all considered her an enemy and she would have been one of the largest problem children to go through the academy since Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto was sure of that. But alas, she had been born a girl, and it seemed that as far as they were concerned, abuse is okay if it's female on male.

* * *

Just moments after he returned to looking forward, the teacher, a middle-aged woman by the name of Sakura, walked into the room. The woman had almost no presence, all things considered, and spent the next five minutes trying to get the class to calm down so that she could make her announcements.

"Congratulations on graduating from this academy," She started once they had all calmed down, "from this day forth, each and every one of you are now considered adults in the eyes of the village. This means that from now on you are expected to act with honor and *cough*," here she stared at Sawaruko, "common decency." The speech proceeded in this manner for a few more minutes before she finally began announcing the team assignments. The first few teams were filled with people that weren't named Naruto, but finally his time came.

"Team Seven will be composed of: Hirogaki Naruto," here Naruto pumped his fist. Of course he'd be team seven, "Hyuuga Hinata," ah, well that would be awkward. Hyuuga Hinata was probably the most developed girl in the class (read: beyond mosquito bites. Also, hips) and didn't seem to be afraid to show some skin. The Hyuuga's short shorts were scandalously so, and if it wasn't just Naruto's imagination, the zipper on her coat was undone a little more each day. Her white eyes, long dark hair, and sharp features made her a very imposing figure.

Her being on his team could be a bit of a problem. The great granddaughter of Hyuuga Hanabi, the former head of the Hyuuga clan, had taken a liking toward Naruto, which wasn't something that he considered a problem. What he did consider a problem was the way that she went about expressing it. The girl had taken to making threats to girls who took an interest in Naruto and hadn't been above using violence to achieve her means. Now, at the very least until he made chuunin, she would be around him every day. All day every day.

A pout adorned Sawaruko's face for all of the three seconds that it took for Sakura to announce the next name: "and Otona Sawaruko. The following students will compose team eight…"

The smile that she wore as she turned to grin at Naruto sent shivers down his spine. All Naruto could do about the situation was gulp, knowing that, sans tragedy, he would be with the two of those girls at least until he made chuunin. Given the way most teams stuck together, though, probably until jounin. He certainly wasn't getting his confidence bolstered by the glare that Hinata was giving Sawaruko. The only thing that would likely prevent Hinata from being hostile with Sawaruko was what had happened the last time Hinata had tried to edge out the pervy girl. Let it not be said that Sawaruko would only perv on men. Let it also be said that Hinata did not swing that way.

* * *

As the class split for lunch, Naruto decided that it would be appropriate for him to gather his team for a lunch meeting. As much as Naruto felt that it would be futile to familiarize himself further with either of his two teammates, he knew that it was for the best in the long run to establish a routine with his two teammates, psychotic though they were. Unsurprisingly, convincing them to have lunch with him, even though it meant having lunch with each other, was not very difficult. What did come as a surprise was that the two had each packed an extra lunch, which they intended to share with him. Hinata's had been packed specifically for him, as she had intended to force him into lunch with her for their last day regardless of team selection. It was to be either a "think of me as you we split up (or I'll kill you)" or a "you're mine now, accept it" kind of gesture. Sawaruko claimed that she always brought a second lunch in case some hot guy wanted to eat with her. Naruto had usually ditched the academy at lunch to go eat at a nearby ramen stand, so he couldn't verify the truthfulness of that claim.

He had originally intended to take them over to the ramen stand nearby, Uzumaki Ramen, the stand he considered second best, named, like so many other things, in honor of Uzumaki Naruto. The story of his life. The girls, however, insisted on having him eat their lunches. While he was eating, he was had to stop Sawaruko no less than a dozen times from touching him. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable with human contact but rather that he knew where her hands would end up roaming if allowed to continue unopposed. He idly wondered if the girl had even seen a real live man naked before, doubting it slightly, before getting that creepy thought out of his head.

As Hinata forced another rice ball down his throat ("Aren't they so much better than that flat bitch's food choices, Naruto-kun?"), Naruto took the time after ensuring that he didn't choke to put his hands up and stop the two girls from force-feeding him further than they had. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy Hinata's traditional bento or Sawaruko's bento, which favored yakitori, mini-sausages, and fishcakes arranged to look like animals, but rather that he intended to speak to them about being a team.

"Look, girls, when we get back from lunch, they're going to assign us our teachers. Whoever our sensei is, there's something that you should know before we go into this. Here's the thing…"

* * *

When they returned from lunch, there was a woman waiting in the room in addition to their diminutive sensei. Naruto had seen the woman before, but he couldn't quite remember where. She was average height for a woman in her twenties and had somewhat fair skin. All of this was of course ignored in favor of focusing on her most notable attribute: her deep pink hair. Naruto would almost say that the hair color was magenta, but would never acknowledge that he could tell magenta from any other shade of pink, nor would he say it was really magenta even then. It looked as if someone had dipped a cherry blossom in some red dye for a moment. The woman had soft features and a vest, so Naruto assumed that she would be the instructor for one of the teams.

He was proven right a moment later when the woman approached him and the two girls.

"Hello, you must be team seven," she said, "my name is Teien Hanako. I've been assigned as your sensei. I'd like to get introductions out of the way, so if the three of you would meet me at Uzumaki Ramen, that would be great. I'll be on the roof. See you kids there."

With that said, Hanako disappeared and left the children to their own devices. Naruto now realized where he had seen the woman before. She had been a fairly regular customer at Uzumaki Ramen as far as he could tell, though he had never struck up a conversation with her.

"Well, I'm going to ask around the class to see if anyone knows where this ramen stand is," Hinata told her two teammates, only to have Naruto turn to her with a look of fire in his eyes.

"No need!" He told her, eye-fires still burning bright, "I got this! Follow me, you two!"

Saying this, Naruto dashed out of the academy building in the direction that he knew Uzumaki Ramen to be. Minutes later he and the girls, who, though hard-pressed, had kept up with the blond on his quest for ramen. Jumping to the roof of the building, Naruto had every intention of getting introductions over with so that he could go down into the restaurant and enjoy a piping hot bowl of noodles and broth. He was surprised however, to find a table on the roof of the building with an insulated delivery box next to it. Hanako was sitting at one of the four seats placed around the circular table and gestured to her students to sit around as she distributed bowls of ramen that would be considered massive by most people that weren't named Naruto.

"Before taking the lids off," she said gesturing to the take-out bowls on the table, "I figured that we could talk about ourselves. Our likes, our dislikes, our dreams for the future. I'll start to show you guys how its done. My name is Teien Hanako, and I like cool ninjutsu and ramen! I dislike politics and the three minutes it takes to make instant ramen. My dream for the future is to be literally anything other than Hokage. Seriously, that job would suck. I hope none of you tell me you want to be Hokage," she said, going deadpan for that last sentence after strong enthusiasm throughout the rest of her introduction, "Itadakimasu!"

Realizing that introducing himself sooner meant that he could eat the ramen in front of him sooner, Naruto moved to be the next one to introduce himself. "My name is Hirogaki Naruto," he said, "My likes are ramen, cool ninjutsu, and I guess I kind of like gardening. My dislikes are the same as sensei's too, but I won't let you step on my dream. One day I will rid this village of corruption and become Hokage. Believe it! Shit I gotta stop saying that…" He trailed off, "Itadakimasu!"

Next Hinata introduced herself. "My name is Hyuuga Hinata. I like Naruto. I dislike people who get in the way of me having Naruto. One day, I will have Naruto, even if it's the last thing he does," she said icily. She really was too young for the deep red lipstick that she was wearing, but it did make her smirk look menacing. "Itadakimasu, sensei."

"Eh?" Naruto quirked his head to the side, "isn't it supposed to be 'if it's the last thing _you_ do?"

"No," Hinata replied still smiling, "because it won't be."

"Er… right," Naruto said, "sensei, I need an adult."

"You are an adult," she said. It was true. Now that they were genin they were were adults in the eyes of the village, though they would be dropped back to minor status if they quit the program or were removed. That effectively shut Naruto up and allowed Sawaruko to make her introduction, which promised to give Naruto uncomfortable feelings, he was sure.

"My name is Otona Sawaruko," she said excitedly. A whole minute or so where people were forced to listen to her and pay attention was something that she considered orgasmic. She was a fan of that word choice, "My likes include boys, and sometimes girls if they're the only ones around. Any port in a storm and all that," here Hanako raised one of her eyebrows and allowed her jaw to drop a bit. This girl was eleven, who the hell taught her these things? "I dislike prudes and pedophiles. My goal is to finally get Naruto-kun's pants off! It shouldn't be too hard now that we're on a team together and all. A few well-placed kunai during a training exercise and those puppies should drop real quick! Heh heh," she chuckled under her breath, 'Itadakimasu!"

"Sensei, I need an adult," Naruto repeated his earlier sentiment.

"I am an adult," Sawaruko told him, grinning like a lecher. Like the lecher she was.

"Haha, well you kids are really gonna hate it when I tell you this next part," Hanako told her three students after finishing her ramen, "See, the thing is that you guys aren't officially a team yet at all," she didn't miss the split second look that each of the two girls shot toward Naruto before looking back to her, "See, the test you took to graduate the academy was like a pre-test. It's up to us teachers to make the final decision as to whether you really graduate or not. I think you kids will do fine, don't worry, but you are going to have to meet me at training ground three tomorrow morning at oh seven hundred to take the test. Fair warning, only two thirds of students pass this test, or something like that, so come prepared. It will be competitive. I don't think I'd recommend eating breakfast tomorrow if I was any of you three."

"But if you're not necessarily our sensei, why did you take us out to lunch?" Sawaruko asked, confused.

"It's a free meal of ramen that I can write off as a training expense," the older woman told her.

"Isn't that kinda corrupt, Sensei?" Sawaruko asked, only to be interrupted by Naruto.

"Foolish Sawaruko! There can be no corruption when it comes to ramen! Ramen is the purest of things in this twisted world! An oasis in this desert of despair! "

"I like this one," Hanako said absently, "it seems like someone out there understands. It's too bad you're so young, kid. Ew, that came out creepy. Forget I ever said that."

"I need an adult."

"I am an adult."

* * *

As the four of them walked away from the ramen stand, they came across what seemed to be a crowd of men gathered around something. As they got closer it became apparent that the men, all a bit on the bulkier, more muscular side, were gathered around a girl who couldn't have been older than sixteen and was trembling in what must have been fear. This was as much as Naruto needed to launch himself at the men.

Though they were bigger than him, it didn't take very long for him to have taken one of them out, and the rest scattered from there. As he returned to his team, he received an unexpected (in his books, anyway) look from his sensei.

"Naruto," she told him, "I know that you are all pumped full of adrenaline, being a ninja and all. I know you really just want to do good and deliver justice to wrongdoers, but that just isn't the way that the world works. You need to call the police when you see something like that. It wouldn't be the first time that some gang members reported back to their leaders, who all seem to have ties to politicians nowadays, and had political pressure put on a shinobi that forced them to retire early, dead or alive. It usually doesn't get to that point, but don't forget that you are just one ninja. You can't take on a gang, especially when gangs recruit heavily from ninja dropouts. They might be dropouts from the program, but you're no jounin either, here. I'm sorry, Naruto, but the world isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Do you understand, Naruto?"

"Yeah," he said absently, "I think I get it all right."

"Well, then, let's go. There's something that I want you kids to see before we split for the evening."

* * *

"This is the Village Memorial Stone. This is where my sensei took me the evening before our test. If you didn't know where training ground three is, now you do. It's the field with this stone. This stone is a memorial to all of the ninja of this village who were killed in the course of duty. Never forget that being a ninja is a dangerous job. You are soldiers, and are liable to lose your lives at any time. Live each day as if it's your last and remember that if you don't pass tomorrow, it's not the end of the world. It just means that you weren't ready for a lifestyle that no children your age should be ready for. That's all I expect from you today. The three of you are dismissed until tomorrow morning. Get yourselves a good night's rest."

It didn't escape her attention, before they turned and left, that while Hinata and Sawaruko were staring up at her in awe, Naruto had had his head lowered to the ground.

* * *

Though his midafternoon ramen snack had been wonderful, Naruto knew that for dinner he would need to stop at the best ramen stand in the village to get what he needed. Ichiraku Ramen was a landmark. Naruto was sure with the wonderful business that they got that they could have expanded countless times if they wanted to, but had decided each time the opportunity presented itself not to in favor of remaining as they were. This ramen stand had been the stand of choice of Uzumaki Naruto, and thus it was the Ramen Stand of choice of Konoha. This stand was run by Ichiraku Momo, whose grandmother Ayame had served the legend himself along with her father. Momo was in turn aided by her daughter Kasumi. Being a single mother must have been difficult for the stand owner, but the superwoman had made it look easy, if what the older patrons said was anything to go by. Kasumi was a couple of years older than Naruto and always made sure to dote on the boy, whom she found to be such an adorable little kid growing up. If the stand was too crowded she would even let him eat in the back, which was their house.

Momo had even started calling him son-in-law. If the ramen wasn't so good, Naruto might have been scared, but as far as he was concerned, there were far worse futures that could await him than a life of ramen.

This time, however, there was room at the stand, so he was able to sit himself down at the bar and place an order for himself for a couple of extra-large bowls of miso ramen. As he waited for his dish, he couldn't help but overhear a few of the men at the stand talking under their breath.

"The tea shop on the corner of fifth and eighth hasn't paid up this month," one told the other.

"Well I guess that means that they're on their own if something happens to them, now, doesn't it?" The other responded.

If Naruto was sick when he heard that, he was livid when he turned to get a look at the men and noticed the insignia of the Konoha Police. Paying for the ramen that he hadn't received yet, he left the stand and returned to his home, fuming. He wasn't more than two feet in the door when a knock came at it.

Opening the door, Naruto was surprised to see a messenger ninja at his doorstep.

"Hirogaki-san, Hokage-sama has requested your presence immediately in her office. Please report to the administration tower as quickly as possible to avoid risking a demerit. That will be all," the messenger told him and then left.

Frowning in slight confusion, Naruto turned about and left, locking the door again behind him. He had no idea what the Hokage wanted, and his curiosity would not allow him to let her wait.

* * *

The office of the Hokage had always been a place where Naruto had felt welcome. The woman under the hat was a kunoichi whose name Naruto honestly did not know. He didn't really need to know either, as old lady had always sufficed. It wasn't that she was particularly old, but getting a rise out of her had always seemed to improve her mood after she had thrown something at him. Rumor had it that Uzumaki Naruto had acted the same way with the Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade.

The air about the office was a bit different than it had been in the past, and if he were to honestly try and describe the atmosphere, he would have described it as tense. It was as if the old lady was worried about something. It didn't make much sense to him, but he would follow along with whatever his leader put forward. Finally, the woman cleared her throat and began speaking.

"Now that you're a genin, Naruto, there's something that I need to tell you. Before I tell you this, I need to know, seriously, what is it you feel for Konoha, Naruto?" The Hokage said as she looked across her desk at the blond haired child. Were it not for the lack of whisker marks on his face, the boy would look just like a younger version of the hero of Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto, who in turn looked much like the Fourth Hokage, her predecessor.

"I'm gonna become Hokage and get rid of all the corrupt politics someday, Old Lady, believe it! Shit, I really need to stop saying that, the younger replied. As long as she had known the boy, he had declared relatively often his desire to take her seat. As she handed a folder across the desk to the boy, she mused over how difficult that goal would become if what was in the folder ever came to light throughout the village.

* * *

As night rolled around, a blonde head made its way to the roof of Naruto's apartment complex. As Naruto walked out the door onto the roof he took a deep breath of fresh air and admired the calm in the night. It always helped to appreciate the environment. Even in a busy city like Konoha, Naruto could _feel_ the nature, even if he couldn't see it. The smell of the air, the vibrations of the ground, the sound of the breeze; each of these came together , alongside the spiritual buzz of thousands of chakra signatures, to form the world around, regardless of the setting. Admiring the world around for one last moment, Naruto finished his moment of admiration and pulled a pair of orange tinted ski goggles over his eyes. He had always thought these looked cool.

"_Damn, I feel like a bad-ass,_" He thought.

He made his way into the city proper, leaving the outskirts essentially out of view as soon as he passed the first set of towers. For those living in less developed parts of the world, the city was overwhelming. Naruto still considered it overwhelming at times. He quickly made his way through the organized grid of the city streets and into the maze of back-alleys he was looking for. Once in this particular set of alleys, it would be simple work to find the group from earlier. While his team had thought that he had gone with them after the encounter, they had been fooled by his doppelganger and he had followed the gangsters to an abandoned church. A bit of research at the department of public records under a henge and Naruto knew everything that he needed to about the building.

The building, while looking like crap from the outside, was entirely condemned for its internals. A room full of pews remained intact, if in poor repair, but beyond that the rest of the church had sank downward into a weak bit of land that had been made unstable by shoddily designed and hastily constructed sewage systems put in during Konoha's rapid expansion following the fall of Madara. If Hirogaki Naruto wasn't mistaken, and he was fairly certain he wasn't, this bit had been constructed in the period after Uzumaki Naruto had been listed dead in the academy textbooks. During the period of time where the war-deterrent that had been Uzumaki's existence hadn't yet faded, Hirogaki Naruto was sure, having seen what he had of village politics, that the corrupt politicians had pushed the construction of this unsafe sewage system through. It was an ironic miracle that even half of the church had survived, as the rest of the original street corner had fallen.

Stepping into the upper building through a second story window, Naruto would have let out a low whistle if he wasn't attempting to be silent. These churches had been short lived following The War, so there weren't too many of them. Even the damaged and dusty piece left above the surface was a piece of history within itself. Churches like this one, claiming to be following the teachings of the Rikudo Sennin, had been popular among some groups of people for the years immediately following the war for reasons Naruto would likely never understand. Naruto's opinion of the belief wasn't very high, but he was certain that there were people who would greatly appreciate knowing of a place like this.

On the floor below him he could sense three distinct chakra signatures, which he promptly made his way past and down into the underground church headquarters of the gang that had mugged the girl from earlier.

* * *

The next morning, Teien Hanako awoke bright and early as she always did, if not a bit earlier. It was her first day as a sensei, and it would be absolutely unforgiveable to be late. If there was one thing that she found most tedious, it was lateness, and she wasn't about to set an example that it would be fine for her students. As she poured herself a cup of coffee, she was surprised by a knock on her door.

Not knowing who it could be at this hour, she took a look through the peep-hole and immediately rushed to open the door when she noticed that it was the Hokage. Hokage-sama was certainly the strongest kunoichi alive in the village. She came from a lineage of ninja, her grandfather having fought alongside Uzumaki Naruto during The War. Despite the energy she managed to put into everything she did, she still maintained a constantly weary look about her, having had to deal with the corrupt city council every day for what must have felt like lifetimes. It was a shame, some of the powers that had shifted to the city council as the city got too large for a military dictatorship. It was true that there was no reason why one needed to be a shinobi to authorize zoning laws and such, but even Hanako was sure that the council exercised every opportunity to turn a dime that they could, legal or questionably so.

"Excuse my impertinence Hokage-sama, but what could you possibly be doing here? It's five in the morning," Hanako asked the older woman. The older woman coughed, using her hand to disguise a very obvious smirk before she replied to her subordinate.

"Well, it seems that one of your students has landed himself in a prison. A report states that police removed him from his home and placed him under arrest at 4:30 this morning for being the prime suspect in an assault case. Fourteen men were injured in a condemned building on the southeast side of the city. Following a declaration of Hirogaki-san's guilt by Councilman Watanabe, he was arrested. They haven't seemed to realize that I have a system that is set up to alert me whenever they try and arrest one of my ninja. I need you to come along now. We have an alibi to provide, as pardons tend to get ignored if I hand out too many of them. Come along now."

All Hanako could do was follow along, dumbstruck.

* * *

The prison was relatively new, yet was every bit as unwelcoming as a prison should be. As a prisoner detained for questioning ranked lower than chuunin, Naruto should have been in a holding cell relatively close to the entrance. It was tedious, therefore, that they had to walk all the way to the maximum security bloc to retrieve the boy. It was a simple matter of the Hokage stating that it was impossible for Naruto to have been the culprit in the assault case as he had been training with his sensei, Hanako, at the time. With Hanako, a respected Jounin of the village, providing an alibi with the Hokage present and demanding the release of her ninja, Naruto was quickly released and given back the items that were on his person when he was arrested.

The sun was just beginning to rise as Hanako led her errant student to the training ground that she had told her students to meet at for the day's test. They had split ways with the Hokage a few blocks earlier, and now there wasn't much more than an uncomfortable silence between the two of them. As they passed by a grocery store opening early to cater to shinobi and kunoichi, Naruto made to go buy some food, only to be stopped by Hanako.

"I thought I told you not to eat before the test, Naruto. If you're going to start disobeying my orders before you're even officially on my team, we're going to have problems Naruto. I've already had to bail you out of prison. This isn't a good start, Naruto-kun," She told her errant student. If they had told her this was how becoming a sensei would go a week ago, she might have reconsidered, but it was too late, and she was stuck with the brats unless she failed them. Crushing dreams could be ever so difficult.

"Eh? You suggested that we shouldn't eat breakfast! That definitely wasn't an order! Why would I go in unprepared to a test, sensei? Also, you didn't bail me out, sensei. You just lied to provide an alibi for me. Not that I don't appreciate it or anything, sensei! Just being technical an all. Believe it! Goddamnit, I really need to stop that."

She couldn't really argue with the boy, but did stop him from going to get any food. It was the principal of it, really. She hadn't gotten her coffee because she had to pick him up from a penitentiary, so he wouldn't get his food either. Her thoughts of passive aggressive vengeance were dashed however, when Naruto pulled a ration bar out of his pouch and began to eat it. Noticing something she should have earlier, she asked her student the question that was on her mind.

"If all you have is what was on your person when they arrested you at 03:30 in your apartment, why are you in full gear?"

As if the question itself were dumb, Naruto turned to her and cocked his head, looking up at an angle at his taller sensei.

"Bug-out bag."

Hanako could only wonder about what sort of eleven year old child would keep a bug-out bag. She had thought during their introductions yesterday that he had been the normal one, but it seemed that he would be at least as much trouble as the other two assuming that they managed to pass her test.

"Well, why don't you go through the events leading up to your arrest? Start from where we split up. I don't need to hear about the conflict you had with those gang members yesterday again."

"Well, first, I was called into a meeting with the Hokage-baa-sama. Top secret stuff. Way above your pay grade. You understand…

* * *

_**The Previous Evening**_

Naruto opened the folder that the Hokage had given him carefully. If he had to judge, these documents had to be at least a decade old. A quick look at a date on the first sheet confirmed his suspicions, dating the documents back to having started about twelve years earlier. A symbol of a musical note struck a chord in Naruto, leaving him with a general sense of discomfort that was cemented into an icy feeling in his gut when he spotted the name of the documents' originator.

Orochimaru.

He continued to read and was fairly shocked at the information enclosed.

* * *

Operation: Heroes Come Back

* * *

Primary Subjects: Uzumaki Naruto (DNA acquisition failed); Uzumaki Karin (mother/host); Namikaze Minato (Replacement DNA donor for Uzumaki Naruto)

Preliminary attempts to locate Uzumaki Naruto have proven fruitless, though the recapture of Uzumaki Karin has been accomplished without complication. Due to unlikeliness of locating or retrieving sufficient genetic material from Uzumaki Naruto within nine months' time, the host will carry a prototype child based on the combination of her own egg and genetic material of Namikaze Minato taken from cold storage.

_**Day 21**_

The child has taken within the host's womb. The host will be provided suitable nutrition and monitored daily to ensure the proper growth of the child. Complications seem unlikely, as Uzumaki vitality has shown in the past to lower the risk of premature death, even before birth. Regardless, the subjects will be monitored at all times.

_**Day 130**_

From this point onwards, chakra use around the mother will be very limited to avoid possible complications. Prior research suggests that chakra that would interfere with the mother's natural chakra flow could be detrimental to the development of a child on some scale. Everything seems to be proceeding smoothly, Sonograms show that the child is likely male, as was the intent of the project. No further notes to be taken at this time.

_**Day 279**_

The child has been born. It has been placed in an incubation tank. Feed and waste tubes will be attached to the child as soon as is determined safe. At this point, the project is considered a suc-

* * *

At this point the report cut off abruptly. Slightly confused, Naruto did take note of the date on the page. That was his birthday. In confusion, Naruto turned to the Hokage, his eyes demanding answers.

"Eleven years ago, I led an assault on an underground Otogakure laboratory. What we found was you, Naruto. I am the only person who knows this, and I assure you that I won't be telling anyone. This is your secret. I know that it must be difficult to take in, but it is the truth. Orochimaru was able to escape that day along with your mother, Uzumaki Karin, and the contents of a freezer drawer labeled "Namikaze Minato". I'm sorry that I had to tell you this, but I think that it's best that you know these sorts of things before you head out into the world."

Naruto was silent for a moment as he stared at the floor, before he raised his eyes to the Hokage and spoke, "Well, this is a lot to take in, but, since you entrusted me with this secret, I suppose I have one for you too…"

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

"Well, then I went back home and had myself some ramen. I'm sure that's a story for another time. Real exciting. After that I relaxed for a few hours until it got nice and late. Then I went out and attacked those gang members…"

"Wait! You actually did that? The Hokage made it sound like they were trying to frame you!"

"She was in on it too, sensei. It was all part of the plan," Naruto said, smiling up at her as if it was perfectly normal for a not-even-minted genin and the Hokage to conspire together. She had a feeling that today was going to turn itself into one massive headache.

* * *

"Satou-san, this just isn't like you. I've been doing business with you for years and we've never had a blunder like this," Councilman Watanabe said to the leader of the gang that had been in his employ for the previous fifteen years. The gang-leader was an ex-jounin who had had to retire when he had lost a hand during a mission gone wrong. Even lacking a hand, the man was a jounin at one point and should have had no problem taking on a single genin, even if the boy had the jump on him and his men.

"I still don't understand what happened myself. It was like the boy was some sort of…"

* * *

'Okay, kids. The rules of this test are simple," Hanako told her students, "I have here these two bells," here she held up the two small bells on bits of string, "The test is simple. Whoever gets the bells gets to pass and join my team. This was a test that was given to my sensei, which was given to her sensei, which was given to her by Haruno Sakura. What with that lineage of greatness, I can only take the best. You understand."

Hinata and Sawaruko instantly glared at each other. Each of them was considering ways to take the other out of the test and get the bells for Naruto and themselves. For Hinata it was personal. For Sawaruko, it was just an easy decision. Naruto simply stood there looking forward at their sensei with a smile on his face. Let it not be said that Naruto was nervous.

"You all have until the buzzer goes off at noon. At that point, any of you without a bell will be tied to these posts," here she patted a large wooden post that she'd been standing next to, "and recommended for re-entry into the academy. I can't guarantee you that you'll be reaccepted, but it usually isn't a problem. Ready? Go!"

Immediately, Hinata and Sawaruko disappeared, presumably into the nearby brush. Naruto however hadn't moved an inch, but just kept on smiling up at her. She could already feel her headache coming back.

"Really, Naruto? You aren't going to make a strategic retreat? Hide and attack me when my guard is down?"

"Nope! I'll do things my way," here he pulled his orange ski goggles over his eyes as his grin widened.

* * *

"I still don't understand what happened myself. It was like the boy was some sort of monster. He got the first three by surprise. The rest," here he paused and took a drag off of a cigarette dangling from his mouth, "were taken out by that kid in regular combat. It was barely even a fight. I managed to land a punch on the kid, but he just shook it off and kept attacking like a damned berserker."

"Well, this is certainly something to think about. We should proceed carefully. I reacted rashly before and demanded his imprisonment," Councilman Watanabe said calmly, "If we aren't fortunate, our connection could very well be exposed, and I don't think that that would be good for either of us."

"No, you're right. I think that we should try and steer clear of the kid if we can. This story is unlikely to come out to the public, given the quiet affair that the Hokage made it this morning. While it wasn't optimal, that blunder of hers will probably keep the two of us safe from consequences for the time being."

"I agree. Let's proceed as if this never happened."

A knock came from the door, surprising the two conversing men. It was only around seven in the morning, and they weren't expecting any company. Silent, they waited for whoever it was to go away, but the knock came again, a bit more persistently this time. It was at times like this that Councilman Watanabe wished that his door had a peephole. Without him opening the door, he would have no idea who was outside, A detrimental and unintended result of renting a cheap apartment far from his actual home for conducting shady business.

The knock resounded once more before the door was blown from its hinges and into the room. From the spikey head of blond hair, it seemed that they wouldn't be avoiding further contact with Hirogaki Naruto after all.

* * *

As Hanako ducked under one of Naruto's punches, she was amazed by the boy's speed. It wasn't jounin level, but for an eleven year old to be able to push his muscles hard enough to achieve this speed was very impressive. After one punch had grazed her earlier, she had been very careful to not let him hit again. The force behind his blows was deceptively strong. She could tell that he was starting to wear down, and could sense that her other two student-hopefuls were nowhere near, so she decided to try and cow the boy into giving up. She began to swirl chakra around above the palm of her left hand. Intrigued, Naruto ceased his assault and watched as she formed her technique. As she finished, above her right hand was a swirling sphere of chakra emitting a low whistle.

"Do you know what this is, Naruto? This is one of the Fourth Hokage's prized abilities: the Rasengan. It's been passed down through the generations and made its way into my hand. This isn't a fully powered one, but it should be enough to knock a brat like you out and take you out of this test. If you still think that you can take me on, come and get me, Naruto." She couldn't tell whether or not his eyes widened at all given the distance between them and the glare on his goggles, but she liked to think that he was at least shocked. There were few children who hadn't heard the tale of Uzumaki Naruto and how he had mastered this legendary technique, and Hirogaki Naruto certainly wasn't one of them.

However, a moment later the boy rushed forward at her and she matched him, dashing at the boy. This would be the first time that she had taken the offensive during this battle, but she did have other students to test and it wouldn't do to leave them unattended for too long. She pulled her arm back and then sprung it forward at Naruto. As the whistling sphere came within his arm's reach, he shot his own hand forward and did one of the most unexpected things Hanako had ever seen.

She was stopped, there was no moving forward any further. In front of her right hand, her Rasengan was still spinning. On the other side of the sphere was Naruto's left hand, undamaged. Hirogaki Naruto had caught her Rasengan. Staring into his eyes through his ski goggles, she noticed, now that they were still, that there was something wrong with the boy's eyes. Though she couldn't determine the color through the orange tinted goggles, she was willing to bet that they weren't their usual blue. That was insignificant, however, in comparison to his pupils, which had become horizontally oriented rectangles.

* * *

_**The Evening Before**_

"Well, this is a lot to take in, but, since you entrusted me with this secret, I suppose I have one for you too. The truth is, I know things that I shouldn't know. I have things that I shouldn't have. I think I should start at the beginning of this story. The truth is, I don't think Uchiha Madara is truly gone forever. Now that I know Orochimaru isn't either, I'm even more worried for the world than I was. I think I should probably tell you about the day Uzumaki Naruto died."

"Naruto died of contamination," The Hokage said, looking at Naruto skeptically, "Too much Kyuubi chakra over far too many years put an end to Uzumaki Naruto twenty years ago. I was a chuunin at the time, and I'll never forget what I was doing when the news came through from the hospital advisors. They say that the demonic chakra literally tore him apart, cell by cell."

"That's a lie. It was a year after the death of Haruno Sakura. She was the last friend he had. Without her, he began to focus more on rooting the village of corruption, but he couldn't figure out how to go about it," here he let out a mirthless chuckle, "He was never the brightest guy, so figuring out politics was far beyond him. So he left to see if he could find the answer out there somewhere. For nine years he travelled the world, just like Jiraiya had. He still didn't feel that much closer to an answer when he was approached by Uchiha Sasuke, who had disappeared following the end of the war. But it wasn't Sasuke, not really. He had been possessed by the wandering spirit of Uchiha Madara. Under the control of Madara, he attacked Naruto and managed to beat back Naruto, who was more preoccupied with trying to get his old friend back than fighting. By the time Naruto realized that he needed to put his all into the fight, it was too late. In a last ditch effort to prevent Madara from getting control over Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, Naruto unleashed every bit of the demon's chakra at once, burning both him and Sasuke to death in an instant and probably leaving the Valley of the End charred pretty badly. The textbooks told us that Uzumaki Naruto died twenty years ago from over-regeneration, but the truth is that eleven years ago, Uzumaki Naruto died alone and with nothing more to look forward to in life."

The Hokage took a moment to let the child's words sink in before looking back to the child and replying: "Well, that's an interesting story, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"It felt like just after the burning stopped that I began to wake up in this body. I must have been three or four when this body finally had the capacity for memory. I died Uzumaki Naruto that day, but I've been given a second chance in this body. I am Naruto. Until now I had no idea how I came to be. Thank you for letting me know that tragic past of mine, and I'm sorry that I had to tell you of the lies surrounding my death. Corruption was everywhere even then. Until I started attending the academy I assumed that I would have been listed as missing in action. I don't know exactly how I came to be revived in this fashion, but now I've been given a second chance and intend to use it the best I can."

"Well, what're you going to do now?"

"This body just doesn't have the capacity for strength that my older body did. I assume that I'll grow into it eventually, but for now I need to start small. There was a gang that I came across robbing a girl earlier. I'm pretty sure they're in a Councilman's pocket, and I want to set them straight."

"What are you going to do about them?"

"What I was best at. I'm going to beat some sense into them. If I wind up in jail, I am going to need you to bail me out, ok?"

* * *

"No way, Naruto," Hanako exclaimed, "This shouldn't even be possible. What sort of ability is this?" It shouldn't have been possible for the boy to catch the rasengan. Closing her eyes she let her senses expand and realized that catching it wasn't what he had done at all. He had formed his own rasengan completely matching hers. The chakra sensing capabilities required for that were at sensor-ninja level and shouldn't have been within the scope of a rookie genin. She faltered momentarily, destabilizing the doubled rasengan and causing it to begin to pulsate violently. A moment later the sphere exploded sending both her and Naruto flying.

She was quick to get back to her feet and saw that her student was still lying on the ground. Rushing over, she checked on the boy, who quickly made his way to his knees, pulled his goggles back up to his forehead, and began coughing up blood violently.

"I'm sorry sensei; I shouldn't have used that ability so much in the last day. My body just *cough* can't keep up with what I want it to do," he said, shaking and coughing. Hanako realized that his pupils had returned to normal and that his eyes were most certainly blue. Coming to the conclusion that the boy had reached his limit, and that whatever ability had caused those changes in his eyes and skills had reached its limit, she picked the boy up, carried him over to one of the three posts and left the boy there to rest before going to deal with her other two students.

* * *

"So, do the three of you understand why you've failed my test?" Hanako asked her now-assembled students. It was a little after noon and she had brought the three back to the posts and was getting ready to gloat for a bit and perhaps even offer them a second chance.

"Hold on one second, sensei. Girls, reach into my pockets," Naruto said from his position on the ground between the two of them. It was clear that he was completely unable to move and wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon. The smile that lit up on Sawaruko's face let him know that he should have chosen his wording better.

"I thought you'd never ask, Naruto-kun. In front of sensei, even! How daring!"

As she reached out to stick her hand into the pocket on her side, her hand was batted away by Hinata, who reached into her side's pocket and pulled out a single bell. Recovering quickly, Sawaruko reached in and retrieved the same. They looked on in confusion before what they were holding clicked and they stared at Naruto in shock. Hanako was no exception to this shock, and immediately demanded that Naruto explain when exactly he stole the bells.

"I took them during the explosion, sensei! Believe it! Goddamnit…"

"The truth is, sensei, we've known that this would be a teamwork test from the start, but Naruto-kun asked us to let him have a shot at accomplishing it himself…"

* * *

_**The Day Before, During lunch**_

"Look, girls, when we get back from lunch, they're going to assign us our teachers. Whoever our sensei is, there's something that you should know before we go into this. Here's the thing: When we get a sensei, they're going to tell us that we're not official yet. The truth is that there's another test after we become genin. Whoever our sensei is is probably going to be testing us on teamwork, but I have something that I need to try. Please allow me to try this myself. If you do, I will let each of you declare one thing that you want. If it is within my power to give it to you, I will. Please, girls?"

"I can declare one thing? Well then, I suppose that I get one chance to declare something, then cannot take it back. After we pass and become genin, you will take me out on a date, Naruto-kun. If you try to cross me on this, I will have your balls. Do not forget this," Hinata said.

"Well then," Sawaruko started, getting an evil glint in her eye, "You will take me on this date too! It's a threesome now and neither of you can stop me! Hahahaha!"

* * *

"He said that it was a matter of pride, and that we could jump in if it didn't look like he could manage it. He did and we've passed, so please allow us to have _our_," Hinata said this word with nothing short of contempt, "Date with Naruto-kun."

"Ah, sorry girls, but someone's getting tied to the post! Looks like it's you, Naruto," Hanako rained on their parade. She wasn't about to let them off that easily.

"Ah, might I suggest a replacement?" A voice came from the edge of the clearing. It was the Hokage, and with her was what must have been a clone of Naruto's. In the clone's hand was a rope, being used like a leashed to drag along the restrained forms of Satou and Watanabe, the gang leader and the councilman. Tying the two to the posts, Hanako couldn't help but whistle at the overall situation.

"Well," she said, "all's well that ends well. Welcome to team seven, kids. Please take good care of me."

And thus ends the tale of how team seven passed their exam and went on to become an official team. Believe it.

* * *

Well, there's my oneshot. I hope that you all liked it, and it did inspire me to write once again. Hopefully I'll be back on track soon. Crown out, once again wishing that you're drinking higher quality drinks than I am.

Please Review and let me know what you think. It's unbeta'ed, so let me know of any errors. I'm sure they're there, but I have so much trouble finding them when I already know all of the words and their intent.


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